The states where hospitals got the highest Leapfrog scores

Hospitals challenge methods behind Leapfrog's safety grades

According to Leapfrog, the states with the highest percentage of A-grade hospitals in the latest report are:

1. Maine (where 67% of hospitals received an 'A')
2. Massachusetts (63%)
3. Virginia (52%)
4. New Jersey (52%)
5. Florida (47%)

Since April, Maine and Massachusetts have retained their respective spots at numbers one and two. Earlier this year, Leapfrog CEO Leah Binder praised Maine for its commitment to quality. She said, "Employers in Maine have worked closely with the hospitals to really try to push them to improve their quality, and you've really seen results over the past few years," adding that state quality improvement initiatives have "driven a lot of healthy competition to meet (the state's) standards."

In April, South Dakota, Illinois, and Hawaii rounded out the top five. Illinois was the only one of the three to make the top 10 this year, with 45% of state hospitals receiving an 'A' grade. (Hawaii dropped to #12 and South Dakota to #20.)

Turning the tables: Hospital group grades hospital rankings

Meanwhile, the states with the lowest percentage of A-grade hospitals are:

1. District of Columbia (where 0% of hospitals received an 'A')
2. North Dakota (0%)
3. Utah (4%)
4. Oklahoma (6%)
5. Mississippi (6%)

Hospital, Leapfrog spar over 'F' safety grade

It's the third straight report in which the District of Columbia had no A-grade hospitals. However, Leapfrog notes that the data show improvement since the spring, when four other states also had zero hospitals receiving an 'A' grade.